QUICK NEWS, 11-18: NEW ENERGY ON THE VERGE; WIND BENEFITS IN THE HEARTLANDS; FROM TANK POWER TO SOLAR POWER; ALL ELECTRIC TESLA ROADTEST

NEW ENERGY ON THE VERGE
Study: Alternative-energy firms' outlook bright
David R. Baker, November 11, 2010 (SF Chronicle)

"Cellulosic ethanol, wind farms and large-scale solar power plants are on the cusp of being able to compete with fossil fuels without the need for subsidies, according to a
[new] study…

"…What's Next for Alternative Energy? [from the Boston Consulting Group, a business strategy consulting firm to oil companies and alternative-energy businesses] tries to forecast the prices and market penetration of alternative-energy technologies by the year 2020, picking possible winners and losers. Some technologies, according to the report, are poised to grow much faster than generally assumed, even if the government doesn't encourage them with new subsidies."

click to enlarge

"With oil prices rising again, cellulosic ethanol, made from woody plants rather than food crops, should be able to compete with gasoline by 2012 or 2014. The consulting group estimates that by 2014, the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol will fall to $1.59 per gallon. Ethanol packs less energy per gallon than does gas, so the cost of producing enough ethanol to equal the energy in a gallon of gasoline would be $2.49…The current cost of producing a gallon of gasoline in California is approximately $2.34…

"Concentrated solar power, the technology used by large-scale solar power plants in the Southern California desert, also has the potential for significant cost cuts in the years ahead, according to the report. By 2020, such plants could supply electricity for less than 10 cents per kilowatt hour, making the technology competitive with conventional power plants that burn natural gas. (The report assumes that the cost of electricity from natural gas plants will hover between 6 cents and 9 cents per kilowatt hour.)"

click to enlarge

"Electric cars may make significant inroads in areas with high gasoline prices and will probably account for 5 to 10 percent of new vehicle sales by 2020, according to the report. But only 6 percent of the country's vehicle fleet is replaced in any given year, meaning that electric vehicles will remain a small portion of the cars on the road.

"The report included a gloomy forecast for technology that captures and stores the carbon dioxide from coal-fired power plants…"Carbon capture and sequestration" technology remains mired in its early stages, despite its potential for fighting global warming. The technology has not been demonstrated at a large scale, and its high costs make it unattractive to businesses unless it receives significant government support. Even under the report's most optimistic scenario, carbon capture and sequestration won't see widespread use before 2025…"


WIND BENEFITS IN THE HEARTLANDS
Midlands Voices: Maximize our wind power to boost rural economies
Tim Geisert, November 15, 2010 (Omaha World-Herald)

"…In conversations the Nebraska Energy Export Association has had across the state, the reason farmers, ranchers and community leaders want to see progress in wind development is not for environmental reasons. The reason they want progress is for the economic opportunities wind power holds.

"….After the Nebraska Public Power District issued a request for proposals [for a wind project in Madison County], 22 developers submitted 35 bids to build a project between 50 and 300 megawatts. Those bids included prices for wind-generated electricity that were extremely low, better than any you see across the nation…[U]nfortunately, NPPD rejected all of the bids…[because] though the prices were good for wind energy, they were still a little higher than prices for coal-generated energy."

4th best wind in the U.S. (click to enlarge)

"…NPPD is required by state law to provide service at the lowest cost it can…[U]nder state law, NPPD really didn’t have an option. Much to the disappointment of Madison County residents and developers, NPPD’s hands were tied…We should explore untying NPPD’s hands.

"…Nebraskans want wind energy development [for] economic opportunity…[R]ural Nebraska needs every opportunity it can get…to at least stem the tide of population decline…[and] to give our rural communities chances to revive…If a 100-megawatt project had been built in Madison County, the county and its political subdivisions would have received more than $350,000 in new tax revenues annually…Dozens of short-term jobs and several permanent jobs would have been created. Multiply the impact of that project by other successful projects in the state, and Nebraska will start to see turbine manufacturers setting up plants in the state."

Nebraska has 42.5 times as much wind power as it needs! It could make many many fortunes building its capacity and exporting the electricity. (click to enlarge)

"The one commercial wind tower manufacturer in the state has yet to sell one tower in Nebraska. We need to reverse this trend…Nebraska law, however, does not allow NPPD to consider these economic opportunities…Having NPPD (and other public power districts) consider economic impact would not require each potential project to be built. It would allow economics to be factored in to consideration…

"…[Sometimes] the economic benefits will not outweigh the costs to ratepayers…[but] there will be projects in which the benefits from taxes, jobs and other economic factors will greatly outweigh any incremental increase in rates. NPPD should take on those projects…We should [empower NPPD] to consider economic impact of wind projects. Only by doing so will we realize the full potential of the opportunities our rural communities need."


FROM TANK POWER TO SOLAR POWER
Gen. Patton's WWII training center to become solar plant; Energy Commission releases recommendation for approval.
K. Kaufman, November 12, 2010 (The Desert Sun)

"The stretch of the Colorado Desert that Gen. George S. Patton used to train soldiers for desert combat during World War II may soon become a solar plant. The California Energy Commission…released a proposed recommendation for approval of the project, which would put a 150-megawatt solar thermal plant on the site, located about 40 miles northwest of Blythe.

"SolarReserve LLC of Santa Monica is the project developer. [The commission’s report recommending approval of the project is here.]

Example of the solar power tower technology to be used for the Rice project. (click to enlarge)

"During the war, from 1942-1944, the 1,410-acre project site was home to Rice Army Air Field and a portion of Camp Rice, which part of Patton's Desert Training Center, used to prepare American soldiers for combat in the North African desert…[Little] remains of the training center on the site…"

Schematic of the solar energy storage concept. (click to enlarge)

"…[T]he proposed approval begins a 30-day comment period, with a final vote by the commission possible as early as Dec. 15…If approved, the Rice project would be the third industrial-sized solar project built in or near the Riverside East solar zone, about 202,000 acres of public land located between Joshua Tree National Park and Blythe.

"The project, which is mostly on private land, also needs approval from the Bureau of Land Management because a transmission line for the solar plant will cross public land…"


ALL ELECTRIC TESLA ROADTEST
Hybrid cars? OK. All-electric Tesla? An eco-thriller! Hybrid cars still hold onto the combustion past, but the Tesla shows how all-electric cars can be a sporty and eco-friendly alternative.
Clayton Collins, November 15, 2010 (Christian Science Monitor)

"…This [Tesla Roadster 2.5 Sport]’s suspension is tight, its tires low-profile, with barely any sidewall between rim and road…But mashing the accelerator pedal practically touches off St. Elmo’s fire. The next stoplight comes up fast. Absurdly fast, in an unnervingly quiet rush…

"…[T]he $100,000-plus, all-electric exotic that looks a lot like a Lotus Elise and, from a performance standpoint, leaves most hybrid cars in its electron cloud…[T]he Roadster’s chassis and some other parts are [from Lotus], though it’s more than 90 percent original, including its lovely, lightweight, partly carbon-fiber body…"

The Tesla Roadster 2.5 Sport (click to enlarge)

"…Loaded with torque, [the Tesla Roadster] does zero to 60 in 3.7 seconds – comparable to…Ferrari’s frighteningly quick F430…[T]op-end speed…is 125…Tesla is, so far, the one true electric supercar…In 2006 I saw its predecessor being built in San Carlos, Calif…It was worth the wait…I’ve flogged a modern Mustang GT on a straight back road. Run a 12-cylinder BMW hard on the Autobahn. Even turned in quarter miles on a drag strip in a Jaguar XKR…This is different. In terms of power on tap, it’s more like twisting the throttle in first gear on a Suzuki GSX-R sport bike – but without the screaming harmonics. (Frankly, that’s about the only shortcoming of this eco-exotic.)

"…The steering wheel feeds back every ripple in the road…Even though it’s a rear-wheel-drive car, the Roadster’s rear end won’t quite break loose on wet pavement in a hard on-ramp turn, with acceleration. Weight is well distributed…Let off the accelerator and the electric-drive system slows the car fast. Braking, when needed, is regenerative. The Roadster’s advertised range is 245 miles with its 900-lb. lithium-ion battery pack. Fully charging it [takes overnight]…"

click thru to Plug In America to track the emergence of tomorrow's personal transport

"…General Motors’s EV1 famously failed (or was made to fail). It took Toyota what seemed like forever just to produce a plug-in Prius…GM’s long-anticipated Volt – talked up as an electric car and finally rolling out this month– comes with a small combustion engine dedicated to battery-charging…One reason for the hesitant adoption…[is] “range anxiety.” That should fade as more businesses and communities add charging stations.

"…[T]he Nissan Leaf is a mainstream all-electric. There is an all-electric scooter. But like the Volt, most of these post-petroleum vehicles can't quite let go of combustion technology…Tesla’s supercar signals that, like everything else, some exotics have tilted eco…a values shift even among conspicuous consumers…The new Porsche 918 is a stunning gas-electric hybrid…The Jaguar C-X75 (still a concept, just recently unveiled in Paris) uses one electric motor on each wheel…Still, Tesla’s Roadster pretty much owns its crackling niche…"